The Minus Man

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mark g Bored out of my mind. Good talent assembled. But you just wait for it to get clever or interesting and it never does. Had a surreal feel to it, but just tedious. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Mark J A dreadful nothing film going nowhere! Could have been so much better if it just tried! Terrible. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/26/24 Full Review Audience Member Excellent film. Throwback genre slo burn methodical journey through a dark mind Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/01/24 Full Review Aldis H Makes no sense and has no point. They try to make this guy sympathetic, but he, and the movie, are just plain pathetic. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/15/24 Full Review Chuck Houck C A bafflingly under-appreciated film. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/05/24 Full Review ronald h Some films can be appreciated for their craftsmanship and mood, in spite of their distasteful content. Remember "Psycho?" None of the characters were really likeable, and the story was certainly unpleasant. But we all agree that it's a great movie because Hitchcock made it so. Not that "The Minus Man" comes anywhere near Hitch's masterpiece, but it's admirable for a few of the same reasons. The storytelling is deadpan and straightforward, with no flashbacks, quick cuts, or flashy camera work. The actors, with one exception, are impressive. And the plot….Well, it's pretty weird. Vann (Owen Wilson), a young drifter, arrives in a small northern California town one night. His first stop is the local tavern, where the disagreeable bartender (John Carroll Lynch) is serving beers to a scraggly young lady named Laurie (Sheryl Crow). There is some disagreement about her ability to pay her tab, so Vann offers to cover it, and the next thing we know, the two are heading off in Vann's pickup truck. Laurie is a junkie, and after she pulls out a hypo and shoots up, Vann offers her a drink of Amaretto. It's apparently poisoned, because she's dead in a rest stop bathroom within minutes. Crow is a dreadful actress, obviously cast because of her star power, but thankfully we're rid of her early in the film. The rest of the cast members are impressive, especially Wilson. He's charming and seemingly naïve. Everybody in the pleasant, white picket fence little town likes him, especially middle aged Doug (Brian Cox) the man who rents Vann a room and helps him get a job sorting mail at the post office. Doug's wife Jane (Mercedes Ruehl) is initially reticent about Vann. Turns out that her first reaction to him was justified: The guy is a whack job who goes about the business of poisoning random citizens of the town. Next in line is the local high school football star. There's a healthy dose of black comedy, but the mood of dread never lets up. We know what the townspeople are in for, but they don't. Vann meets post office co-worker Ferrin (Janeane Garofalo) and strikes up a tentative relationship with her. Will she be the next victim? What about good old Doug, who kind of adopts Vann as the son he never had? Vann talks to the audience in voice overs throughout the film. He is blithe and indifferent, just describing his normal daily activities to us. It's a creepy effect. Even more weird are Vann's dreamlike sequences with two cops who suspect him (Dennis Haysbert and Dwight Yoakam). Cox's performance is phenomenal. He's got serious emotional and mental issues. His daughter is missing for reasons not explained, he's got a bad relationship with his wife, and he self-flagellates. I found myself wanting to see more of him. It's hard to evaluate this movie overall. It's well directed and acted, but it's oddball. And the ending will make you insane. So watch it accordingly. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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